“Christmas Day is in our grasp,
So long as we have hands to clasp.”
– from “Welcome Christmas”
From How the Grinch Stole Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! 🙂

So long as we remember what it’s really about, that is. And so long as we remember what matters most.

It’s something I always took for granted as a kid, as we almost always do. I mean, what’s so special about spending time with family? I had that pretty much every day as a kid! And it’s not like we always got along anyway. But presents now! Presents were rare and they were always great! (except when they were clothes, especially underwear, that just sucked, whose terrible idea was that?) Whatever anyone else said, the best part about Christmas was obviously the presents!

It’s like the icing on the cake, ya know? The cake is good, but it’s the frosting that everyone really loves. 😉

Time has done a lot to teach me the error of my ways as a kid. Over time, my family scattered, and we are very much dispersed now. But there is one very special time of the year we are guaranteed to get together: Christmas. Not everyone makes it every year, but someone does. And that has become the best Christmas present I could ever ask for: time with my family.

None more so than Dr. Seuss’ classic tale about the Grinch and the Who’s. They’re all a bit set on the shiny things of Christmas, as I was as a kid. But they learn, or show, that the best part of Christmas isn’t the presents, it’s the people. Christmas is Christmas, and it can’t be hurt just by taking away some possessions. No, the Who’s and I know that Christmas will always be worth celebrating, so long as you have someone to celebrate it with.

Interesting detail, though… if Christmas is always within reach, so long as you have the people you love by your side… then we don’t really need to let go of that spirit at all, do we? 😉